ECOBUILD INDUSTRY TRENDS
JOANNA LUMLEY
sustainable show,’ said Madeleine Cox of renewables wholesaler NRG8. ‘It does send out very mixed messages – look at the carpets and the lighting that never goes off. What’s going on?’ How to store renewable energy proved
a popular topic for visitors and Ireland’s Mastervolt reported brisk business on its stand as specifi ers looked to plug this gap in the retrofi t market with fl exible battery arrays. The solar panel market has also evolved
since it dominated the Ecobuild of two years ago. The cutting of FiTs decimated that fi eld, but there is still life in the market and there was much excitement about the emergence of ‘hybrid’ PVT (photovoltaic thermal) panels that combine both electricity and hot water generation in a single panel. Italy’s Fototherm was busy with enquiries as specifi ers clearly spotted the potential of being able to increase output from the same footprint. That was a success story, as was the explosion in LED lighting products supported by the Lighting Experience. This walk-through adventure traced the development of lighting technology and concluded with the intricacies of the LILG Guide that explained the metrics behind LED systems.
Inventive BSRIA chief executive Andrew Eastwell welcomed the diversity of the show because it demonstrated the ‘incredibly inventive’ nature of the sector. He added that if we adopted all the technologies on show we would be able to avoid the looming power cuts predicted on the eve of the show by Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan. However, Eastwell pointed out that
we have not solved the problem of how to integrate technologies, and that government incentive schemes are not helping. ‘The government tends to be very widget-based, so incentivises individual products rather than looking to support complete systems – that is the jump we need to make. How about a grant scheme
that incentivises the builders based on the performance of the complete building?’ said Eastwell. Visitors were also excited by the possibilities promised by phase change materials. Shaun Fitzgerald, managing director of Breathing Buildings, said changes to the Building Regulations this year would drive the industry down this route. Of course, there is building information modelling (BIM) to knit all these things together and the big winners should be facilities managers (FMs), who were at Ecobuild in some numbers. However, Kate Fletcher of Arup said
there would need to be more evolution ‘in the FM chain’ so they can persuade clients that there is a benefi t in updating their BIM models. Contractors, too, need to do more to help the BIM process gain traction among their clients. It was easier to move speedily around
these myriad technical offerings because the aisles were noticeably quieter than previous years. Exhibitors blamed the economy, but also felt there was confusion about the intended audience. ‘The UK seems to have lost its way
when it comes to exhibitions,’ said David Pepper, managing director of heating equipment manufacturer Lochinvar. ‘Visitors to US shows seem to go with a much more gung ho business attitude. Engineers will happily visit a manufacturer’s stand to ask questions and do business – they are not scared about being sold to.’ Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) is
also a market segment on the move, with Total Home Environment saying that sales of their Genvex products had increased by 23% year-on-year. Managing director Michael Hunt said much of this growth could be explained by pressure from Part F and Part L of the Building Regulations coupled with continued rises in fuel costs. And the fl owers? Caroline Mann from
Habitat Aid said there was enthusiasm among housing associations and architects for sustainable landscaping to improve the biodiversity of their projects – particularly around solar PV arrays. CJ
There was much talk about the potential for the Renewable Heat Incentive to drive the biomass market
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April 2013 CIBSE Journal 33
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